Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the contents of the planned Clinical Commissioning Groups' (CCG) Scorecard; and what steps he has taken to ensure that the CCG's scorecard secures improved outcomes for people on the autism spectrum.
Answered by George Freeman
The King’s Fund published their report on a CCG scorecard, Measuring the Performance of Local Health Systems
(http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/articles/measuring-performance-local-health-systems), on 12 October. The King’s Fund recommends that the scorecard should comprise a small number of headline indicators targeted at the public; a broader set of indicators on performance in delivering national priorities; and a wide set of indicators for local health systems to use for improvement.
The Department will publish further details of how it will work with NHS England to implement the scorecard in due course.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Sheffield Brightside meet NICE guidance.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
NHS Newcastle Gateshead CCG is working with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to refine their autism pathway, from diagnosis through to therapy and support if appropriate, to be in line with the NICE recommendations. In October 2013, Sheffield CCG commissioned a service to be NICE compliant. However, the service has received a higher volume of referrals than had been anticipated, and is currently the subject of a review to ensure the right model and level of service is delivered in Sheffield.We are not aware of any issues in Carshalton and Wallington.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on the possible establishment of a tuberculosis control board in South Yorkshire.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I understand that a joint tuberculosis control board is to be established covering the Yorkshire and the Humber and North East regions.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for delivery of the Collaborative Tuberculosis strategy for England.
Answered by Jane Ellison
A draft implementation timetable was developed at the time of the launch of “The Collaborative Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy for England 2015-2020” on January 2015. As part of the strategy implementation process, work is currently underway with relevant stakeholders to review and finalise an implementation plan and timetable to deliver the Collaborative TB Strategy for England 2015-2020 in autumn 2015.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of a link between access to GPs and attendances at accident and emergency departments.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Urgent and Emergency Care Review identified a number of factors that impact on accident and emergency (A&E) attendances which can include local access to general practitioners (GPs).
We are expanding access to GPs in the evenings and at the weekend. Through the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund, 18 million people will benefit from improved access, including at evenings and weekends by March 2016.
According to the latest GP Patient Survey results, published on 2 July 2015, 85.2% of patients were able to get an appointment with a GP or nurse at their surgery. 91.8% of those were able to get an appointment convenient to them. Of the 10.9% who reported that they could not get an appointment and the 8.2% who could not get an appointment that was convenient, 9.9% went to A&E or a walk-in centre.